Is the "insincere choice" (telling the player they have no choice while they actually do) the best means we have to present a subversive message? If we are locked into a rule system by the nature of the game's code we can never change the system, what would be the ultimate extent in this regard? Making a game that allows the players to create their own rules, would almost seem to devolve very quickly into art-piece.

The resulting experience might have something profound to say about the abstract notions of games as a subversive medium, but would it lack enough direction/focus to be captivating in the slightest, and therefore possibly unable to be profound or meaningful to an individual?

I don't really look towards my games for 'subversive' material (having plenty of daring literature bumping around my shelves, sometimes I just want to get away), but Pfeifer provides some food for thought on how a variety games get their point across.

How Can A Game Be Subversive? [GameSetWatch]

Abbott references talk that the game would "invite the player to consider the moral and ethical dimensions of American foreign policy in Iraq", and compares it to his impressions of the game:

"Blacksite: Area 51 is a shooter, and that's basically it. Yes, it begins in Iraq and yes, it contains mission titles like "Misunderestimated" and "Cut and Run," but once the aliens start coming at you, the game unfolds like any other standard shooter."

Blacksite: Where's my subversion? [The Brainy Gamer]

"The PS3 version is experiencing issues and missed deadlines...Midway isn't happy at all about the progress, and it's a story I've heard over and over this year across the industry when it comes to the PS3 and cross-platform titles.

The first demo level is stereotypical suburbia. You work your way through backyards and down cul-de-sacs while keeping your eyes open for aliens reminiscent of Resident Evil Hunters. You eventually command two NPCs who join your party, both who will run ahead to a spot of your choosing with a quick click of the bumper.

Funny detail? Whenever there is a door or gate, you need to send in the soldier to kick it in for you. Yeah, he's the "kick the door down specialist" or something.

The game tracks your party's moral as well, which I only noticed after plowing down a bunch of baddies when a very small message popped up on the screen.

But what's so great? It's the moments like when you are walking through one man's backyard. He holds a pistol at you feebly and orders you to leave. Then a giant tentacle dragon thing pops out of his house.

You wonder if the guy has a hundred cats in there so he never noticed the smell.

It's especially elements like these tentacle battles that are so reminiscent of arcade shooters. Here, and during another moment when you are battling a boss on a bridge (riding in a wonderfully scripted helicopter), you get that retro head-on, quarter-hungry shooter feel, complete with fireballs hurling toward your person that need to be shot lest they kill you.

Even many enemies seem to attack in a square-shouldered manner, begging for a good nut shot. The view is still the standard FPS complete with trademark ready-to-fire generic machine gun. But somehow developers have pulled off something...dare I say it...new?

Having seen screenshots and heard the pitch, I expected BlackSite to be the epitome of a cliché FPS. But the game is worth looking out for if you appreciate the reinvention of an old mechanic, or just some mindless fun.